Page 58 of Missing Marcus

Gabby sighed. “I appreciate it. I don’t believe we can fix this,” she said sadly.

“Do you think there’s too much water over the dam?” Victoria asked as she passed another cup of tea to Samantha and sat down.

Gabby sent the older woman a confused glance. “Huh?”

“She means to say there’s too much water under the bridge,” Kassie corrected before sipping her drink.

Victoria huffed. “Where do you get these sayings from? Do they not have the common sense to know water rises and to just construct the bridge higher?” She shook her head in disgust while the others hid their smiles behind their beverages.

“Gabby. I’m here as a friend. If you want to talk through things, I’m available professionally. I’m not a marriage counselor. Bryanna asked me to speak with you, hoping I might have the tools to guide you,” Claire spoke up.

“Honestly, I don’t know where to begin. It seemed like we fell apart little by little and then suddenly, we made this huge gap between us,” she confided in the women.

“When did you first start to notice it?” Claire asked gently.

Gabby paused, recalling the first time she felt Marcus slipping from her. “We’ve celebrated our anniversary with a nice dinner and walked along the beach every year for the first two years. Last year, he spun up nonstop. When he returned, he went to meetings, received phone calls in the middle of the night, and never seemed present, even when we did go out. I waited all day for him to remember our anniversary. He went with me to the grocery store, and we grabbed lunch with a couple of friends at a local bar. When we returned, he received a phone call and left. I don’t know when he returned because I went to bed.”

“Did you say anything to him about your feelings? It must’ve hurt you,” Claire asked as Bryanna squeezed her hand and handed her a tissue from the side table.

She nodded. “Yeah, it did. I didn’t want to complain. When we married, I knew what I signed up for by marrying a military man.”

“What did you sign up for?” Claire asked.

“You know. They can’t talk about where they went or what they did. Sometimes, I wanted to ask because he came home with such a haunted expression, I worried about him.”

Catherine set her cup on the table. “My husband, Leo, leads the team. Once, he and my brother, his best friend, worked on the same team. Eric died during a mission. Leo couldn’t discuss what happened, and we didn’t communicate. I refused to listen and made stupid decisions because of it. Thinking back, I wish I had talked about it with him and saved us both from the heartache.”

Kassie leaned over and hugged her friend.

“I tried telling him how I felt. When I brought up something, he accused me of making him feel like he didn’t do enough.” Gabby shook her head. “He thinks because I lived in a nice house, drove a decent car and he sent his checks into the same bank account, I didn’t have a reason to complain.”

“Oh, honey. I’m afraid my dad’s to blame there. You know the story of how my father left my mom after my birth. Marcus resented him for leaving us in such dire straits. I’m not sticking up for what he did, I’m saying he might’ve overcompensated because he never wanted you to go without,” Bryanna explained gently.

“I know. It’s why I didn’t say anything. When I graduated the first time, I knew he spun up and I accepted it. I wanted to surprise him when I completed my master’s degree. He never put down my waitressing job but never saw me as anything else. Then, he missed my birthday, holidays and other events. They became ordinary days to him. I doubt he even remembers Christmas. Because of my heavy school exams, I put the tree up late. He returned home and stared at it as if December took him by surprise. You called and wished us a Merry Christmas on Christmas morning and thanked us for the gifts. He picked up his keys, made an excuse about needing to pick up something. He returned six hours later with a poinsettia in hand. I became an afterthought. It hurt, Bryanna. I don’t want to tell you this to make you mad.”

“I’m beyond upset. Why didn’t you tell me he did this?” Bryanna asked quietly. “I’d have given him a piece of my mind.”

“You and Marcus share an incredible bond. I didn’t want a wedge between the two of you. I hoped when I discovered my pregnancy, it might jolt him out of whatever bothered him. Instead, he came home and accused me of cheating, threw me out of the house, and when I reached out to tell him about the baby, he told me to speak to his lawyer.” Gabby sobbed. “He broke my trust, our marriage and my heart. In the military he risked his life to save other people but he didn’t fight for us. I created a life of my own and didn’t need saving. I don’t understand why.”

Bryanna knelt in front of her friend and hugged her tightly.

“Do you want me to string him up by his balls until he begs for mercy? Maybe he’ll feel inspired to explain his behavior. A man doesn’t suddenly go from attentive to distracted without a reason. I’m offering my services, free of charge, of course,” Victoria offered, making Gabby smile until she realized she seemed partially serious.

Claire cleared her throat and Bryanna clutched Gabby’s hand in support.

“Did you ask him?” Claire questioned. “I’ve never met your husband. If you held back all your feelings every time he disappointed you, how did he know?”

“Are you saying she’s at fault?” Tess’ brows knitted together in anger. “How does someone forget an anniversary or a birthday of someone they love? Even if they did, an apology or an explanation seems better than ignoring it all together.”

Claire smiled. “We don’t know Knight’s point of view. I’m not blaming anyone, I’m only asking questions.”

“A marriage consists of two people. I made mistakes, too.” Gabby accepted her part in her broken marriage. “It never occurred to me Marcus thought me capable of cheating.”

Claire scooted to the edge of her seat and leaned in. “Gabby, you’re grieving the loss of your marriage and your friend. How do you feel about putting off any major life changes?”

She shook her head adamantly. “No. Marcus wanted this and I’m not letting him use this baby as an excuse to delay the divorce.”

Bryanna patted her hand. “With everything happening between Marcus, the accident, and your friend’s death, all this feels more amplified than if you dealt with it one at a time. If you reschedule, it might give both of you a chance to resolve some issues and avoid any regret later.”

---